Life

Life is different down here. It is quieter, colder, more beautiful, & different. We are getting use to it. We love the space of 3 acres for the kids to run around. We love the view. There are good people here. We pray for God's hand on our lives and this church.

Sweet Home . . . no really it is called Sweet Home!!

We know God knows the future. We just never imagined we would end up back in our home state serving in the small community of Sweet Home, Oregon. We were preparing to move to France . . . we are now living in the heart of small town America. Life is an adventure.

Well, our kids and Edmund, our dog, are sure enjoying it here! Lots of room to run, lots of grass and such sweet, kind people at the church.

Between remodeling the parsonage, entertaining company & VBS, we have kept pretty busy during these last 5 weeks. For 2 of those weeks we had Susan's family staying with us - 22 people under one roof - it was a ton of fun!!! We were all gathered for Susan's Grandpa's 85th birthday.

We also had some cuties join our family, the girls talked us into accepting 2 8-week old kittens from Susan's cousin. They are brother & sister and Edmund seems to be adjusting to them quite well.

So if any of you would like to come visit - let us know we would love to have you!
Take a look at our view from our living room.

The kids & the pets
Swimming in the pool someone gave us!
Hiking near our home
Hiking again!
God's beautiful creation everywhere!

New Adventures

Thomas Boyd from the Oregonian took this picture

We know transition. We know limbo. We know uncertainty. We also Know the Creator of all things, the Alpha and the Omega. He has set us on a new course, one we would not have thought of on our own. He is directing our lives to a new place. We know it is Him who is directing us and we trust Him completely.

Merry Christmas to all!
More Christ to all!

School Pics!

We like to take our kids' school pics at home and make it a family affair. Here are this year's. And we added one of Edmund too - he hasn't started school yet, but maybe soon!

Family Reunion

We had such a great time with everyone in town. Here are a few of the cousins riding the carousel here in Salem.

Corley Reunion

We have been having a great time with everyone being in Oregon! We all spent a couple of days at the Oregon coast!

Well, our dining room, kitchen & living room are done now. Here are the pics. We are ready for company now!

Canby Grove Camp & Rudy & Terri Sheptock

What a great time we had! What a blessing! We were able to travel up to Canby Grove Camp and visit Rudy & Terri Sheptock (they were out here all the way from New Jersey) because he was the guest speaker at the Family Camp this week. They were my youth pastor in Ohio. My best memories in Ohio all come from the times with them. We were able to chat with them for a few hours and meet their youngest son.

Grandpa's 84th Birthday

My Grandpa turned 84 yesterday. He was a Marine in WWII, he was a gunner on an Amphibian Tractor, so I made a simple replica of the boat. We all had a good time.

Girls' Bedroom in the Basement

We finished our girls' bedroom yesterday. We built some bookshelves for them and had a great time doing it!

We thought our son would play with the puppy the most, but our oldest has bonded the most! Here they are on a short roadtrip.